John Hanno – Page 87 – The Tarbabys Blog

US economy on solid ground as weekly jobless claims fall, home sales surge

Reuters

US economy on solid ground as weekly jobless claims fall, home sales surge

Lucia Mutikani – March 21, 2024

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week, while sales of previously owned homes increased by the most in a year in February, signs the economy remained on solid footing in the first quarter.

That was underscored by other data on Thursday showing business activity stable in March, though inflation picked up. Even a gauge of future economic activity turned positive in February for the time in two years. The United States continues to outshine its global peers, thanks to labor market resilience.

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday left interest rates unchanged, with policymakers upgrading their growth forecasts for this year and indicating they still expected to lower borrowing costs three times by year end. Economists said the upbeat economic reports made it more unlikely that the U.S. central bank would start cutting rates before June.

“Companies are not laying off workers and the labor market remains relatively strong,” said Christopher Rupkey, chief economist at FWDBONDS in New York. “And now there are signs of life for existing home sales. This makes easing monetary policy at this juncture more problematic.”

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 210,000 for the week ended March 16, the Labor Department said. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 215,000 claims in the latest week.

Claims have been mostly bouncing around in a 200,000-213,000 range since February. Despite a flurry of high-profile layoffs at the start of the year, employers have largely been hoarding labor after struggling to find workers during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Unadjusted claims decreased 12,730 to 189,992 last week. Applications in California plunged by 5,369, while filings in Oregon fell 2,580. They more than offset notable increases in Michigan and Missouri.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell told reporters on Wednesday he did not see “cracks” in the labor market, which he described as “in good shape,” noting that “the extreme imbalances that we saw in the early parts of the pandemic recovery have mostly been resolved.” The U.S. central bank has raised its benchmark interest rate by 525 basis points to the current 5.25%-5.50% range since March 2022.

The claims data covered the period during which the government surveyed business establishments for the nonfarm payrolls portion of March’s employment report. Claims rose marginally between the February and March survey weeks. The economy added 275,000 jobs in February.

Data next week on the number of people receiving benefits after an initial week of aid, a proxy for hiring, will offer more clues on the health of the labor market in March. The so-called continuing claims increased 4,000 to 1.807 million during the week ending March 9, the claims report on Thursday showed.

“The labor market is gradually rebalancing, but the adjustment appears to be coming from less hiring rather than a surge in firings,” said Rubeela Farooqi, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics. “We expect job growth to slow somewhat but the unemployment rate to remain low this year.”

HOUSING SUPPLY IMPROVES

Stocks on Wall Street were trading higher. The dollar was steady versus a basket of currencies. U.S. Treasury prices fell.

In a separate report on Thursday, the National Association of Realtors said existing home sales jumped 9.5% last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.38 million units, the highest level since February 2023. The monthly increase in sales was also the largest since February 2023.

Economists had forecast home resales would fall to a rate of 3.94 million units. Sales were boosted by an improvement in housing supply, with inventory surging 5.9% to 1.07 million units, the highest for any February since 2020. Supply was up 10.3% from one year ago.

Home resales, which account for a large portion of U.S. housing sales, fell 3.3% on a year-on-year basis in February.

The housing market has been battered by the Fed’s aggressive monetary policy stance as it fights inflation, and the signs of improvement in supply, together with retreating mortgage rates, bode well for the spring selling season.

Nonetheless, housing inventory is still well below the nearly 2 million units before the pandemic. Homes in many areas, especially in the Northeast, continue to receive multiple offers, pushing out first-time buyers, who accounted for only 26% of transactions last month.

That share is well below the 40% that economists and realtors say is needed for a robust housing market. A fifth of the homes sold last month were above listing price.

Many homeowners have mortgages with rates below 4%, discouraging them from selling their houses, contributing to the supply crunch and higher home prices. The median existing home price increased 5.7% from a year earlier to $384,500 in February. Home prices increased in all four regions, and could remain elevated with supply still likely to lag demand.

“If broader activity remains strong, a further normalization of home sales and new listings could be an indication that homebuyers are adapting to a higher level of rates,” said Veronica Clark, an economist at Citigroup in New York.

The increase in sales means more brokers’ commissions, which should boost the residential investment component in the gross domestic product report. Goldman Sachs raised its first-quarter GDP growth estimate to a 1.9% annualized rate from a 1.7% pace. The economy grew at a 3.2% rate in the fourth quarter.

The economy’s improving prospects for this year were reflected in a fourth report from the Conference Board showing its leading economic index rebounded 0.1% in February after declining 0.4% in January. That was the first increase since February 2022.

“The economy is poised to continue in expansion mode,” said Priscilla Thiagamoorthy, a senior economist a BMO Capital Markets in Toronto.

(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama, Paul Simao and Andrea Ricci)

The IRS Is Cracking Down on These High-Income Earners. Are You One of Them?

Smart Asset

The IRS Is Cracking Down on These High-Income Earners. Are You One of Them?

Mark Henricks – March 21, 2024

The IRS recently announced a major tax enforcement initiative that will increase scrutiny on high-income earners, partnerships and people with foreign bank accounts. The agency said the effort would “restore fairness to [the] tax system” by focusing on wealthy taxpayers who have seen sharp declines in audit rates over the past decade.

Targeting Million-Dollar Earners With Large Tax Debts

At the center of the IRS crackdown are individuals who report over $1 million in income and have more than $250,000 in recognized tax debt. In its Sept. 8 announcement, the agency said it has identified 1,600 taxpayers fitting these criteria who collectively owe hundreds of millions in unpaid taxes.

The IRS described plans to use specialized revenue officers concentrating solely on collecting from these high-end delinquent accounts starting in fiscal year 2024. For those who fall into this segment, expect the IRS to come knocking as early as next year.

The news follows an injection of billions of dollars into the IRS budget from the Inflation Reduction Act. The agency says the added funding will pay the cost of collecting more from wealthy tax cheats, while maintaining low audit rates for people earning less than $400,000 a year. Another goal is to reduce or limit audits of moderate- and low-income taxpayers claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC).

AI-Powered Large Partnership Audits

The IRS is also significantly expanding examinations of large partnership tax returns. Because their complexity overwhelmed the tax collection agency’s resources and ability to analyze them, these returns have received limited scrutiny historically, according to the IRS. Audit rates for these large partnerships have also declined in recent years as the agency’s funding and staff have shrunk.

By the end of September, the agency plans to change that by opening audits of 75 of the biggest partnerships in the U.S., each with over $10 billion in assets. In October, the IRS will also begin mailing compliance notices to 500 partnerships for unexplained discrepancies in their balance sheets that could potentially trigger audits if not addressed.

The IRS plan calls for using artificial intelligence to analyze these complex returns. The idea is to employ machine learning to detect anomalies and more accurately target non-compliant returns for audit. This, the agency says, will enable more efficient use of limited IRS exam resources on detailed exams of complex partnership returns.

IRS statements on this new initiative stress that it won’t affect taxpayers with moderate and lower incomes. However, no matter what your income, if you hold partnership interests, especially in a large private equity fund, hedge fund or real estate partnership, you may be affected by the new enforcement.

Increased Enforcement on Foreign Financial Accounts

The Amount You Owe box from a 1040 income tax form.

The IRS is also expanding enforcement for failure to disclose foreign bank and financial accounts. By law, you must file a foreign bank account report (FBAR) separately from your return if you have over $10,000 in offshore accounts.

The IRS found filing discrepancies indicating potential non-compliance among hundreds of taxpayers with average account balances exceeding $1.4 million. The agency is planning to audit the most serious FBAR offenders in 2024.

If you have any foreign accounts or assets, pay close attention to FBAR filing obligations. The IRS intends to have more sophisticated means on hand to identify unreported foreign holdings. Penalties for willful failures to disclose required information can be stiff.

Bottom Line

This IRS is expanding its enforcement efforts on high-income taxpayers and large partnerships for which audit rates have plunged over the past decade. If you earn over $1 million, hold interests in major partnerships or have foreign financial accounts, you may be in the IRS’ crosshairs. Even taxpayers who previously have avoided audits may now attract scrutiny from a more endowed IRS. Now more than ever, it’s advisable to tap into qualified tax advice, be proactive about compliance and respond quickly, accurately and completely to any IRS notices in order to minimize potential penalties and interest.

The Latvian sandwich makers training to push Putin’s army into ‘kill zones’

The Telegraph

The Latvian sandwich makers training to push Putin’s army into ‘kill zones’

Sophia Yan – March 21, 2024

Matiss Lopsa, 21, spends a few weeks training with the national guard – ANRIJS POZARSKIS

For most of the year, Matiss Lopsa makes sandwiches in a fashionable cafe in eastern Latvia, but for a few weeks the 21-year-old puts his apron aside and picks up a rifle to train with the national guard.

His home town, Rezekne, lies 35 miles from the border with Russia and is on a direct road to Moscow.

The proximity to danger is not lost on Mr Lopsa.

In January, Latvia reintroduced conscription for men aged 18 to 27 – even for those living abroad. Two years into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, there are growing fears that Vladimir Putin could make a strike against Nato.

“I thought the government might bring back the draft,” said Mr Lopsa. “So I decided to volunteer, to choose to do this myself now, rather than be surprised if I was suddenly called up.”

He believes the government was right to begin training men like himself how to fight.

“I’m all for it – I think it’s a very, very good way to discipline young men,” said Mr Lopsa, after a day spent tossing meat and vegetables onto flatbread.

“That way, if you are called into war, you won’t be caught short on the first day not physically knowing how to do anything.”

Conscription was reintroduced in Latvia in January 2024 for men 18 to 27 — Himars rocket system training in Latvia. Conscription has been reintroduced in the country for men 18 to 27 – INTS KALNINS/REUTERS

It is in anticipation of that “first day” that the Latvian government is seeking to expand its armed forces to 61,000, between active and reserve forces.

In 2024, the military will draft a total of 600 soldiers, with the goal of bringing in 4,000 per year by 2028.

There are exceptions, for example men who are the sole guardians of children or elderly parents, or are studying at university.

Draft-dodgers face fines and a prison sentence of up to five years during wartime.

Latvia is also developing the capabilities of its military. The government has procured new weapons systems from the US, including the Himars rocket system – a key part of Ukraine’s defence against Russia.

It has also purchased German Iris-T air defence units and a naval coastal defence system produced by Kongsberg, a Norwegian firm, and US defence contractor Raytheon. The government has agreed to construct a defensive line with neighbouring Estonia and Lithuania.

Together, the three Baltic nations share the longest Nato border with Russia and Belarus, running about 1,000 miles.

Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia are working together to create a defensive line against Russia if it starts to advance – SEAN GALLUP/GETTY IMAGES EUROPE

One concern along that stretch of land is the lack of geographical obstacles to any invading force.

Tomas Jermalavicius, the head of studies at the International Centre for Defence and Security in Estonia, said: “There are places where there are thick woods and rivers. But there are also places where it’s really wide open, and where it’s really close to critical points.

“If there are no obstacles … the enemy could be standing at the capital doors in no time.”

Targets that could be vulnerable include Lithuania’s capital, Vilinius, and Latvia’s second-largest city, Daugavpils – both less than 20 miles from the border to Belarus.

There’s also the Suwalki Gap, a roughly 60-mile land strip on the border between Poland and Lithuania. It’s a choke point, flanked to the West by the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad and to the east by Belarus, an ally of Moscow.

Were Moscow to seize this strip – known as Nato’s Achilles’ Heel – Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania would be severed from their Nato allies.

Geographical obstacles are of critical concern to the three countries – SEAN GALLUP/GETTY IMAGES EUROPE

Estonia’s new border defence plan aims to address these concerns by working to “channel advancing forces into ‘kill zones’ identified by the defenders for drone fire, for artillery – to turn those channels into a meat grinder”, said Mr Jermalavicius.

While details are still being worked out, Estonia has already said it will build hundreds of bunkers that can withstand direct artillery fire.

Working together is crucial.

“If Estonia does something Latvia does not do, and it becomes possible to launch an attack on Estonia through Latvian territory – this kind of stuff needs to be co-ordinated,” Mr Jermalavicius said.

Already, Latvia is incorporating lessons from the battlefield in Ukraine, where the country’s military instructors have helped to train local soldiers – an exchange that has boosted understanding both ways.

Troops are no longer only drilling in open fields but learning how to engage enemy combatants in urban settings.

But not everyone is as positive about the draft as Mr Lopsa.

Two teenage boys, 16 and 17, in Zilupe, a tiny Latvian town about four miles from Russia, simply laughed off the prospect.

Another boy, 17, told The Telegraph that he’d simply leave the country to evade service.

Konstantin Tupikins, 28, who has just aged out of the military requirement, thinks his younger brother, 15, would not make it as a soldier.

“He’s not really someone with this kind of bravery and courage,” said Mr Tupikins, who now works in the UK, and was home to visit his mother in Zilupe.

Konstantin Tupikins, 28, is over conscription age but fears for his brother – ANRIJS POZARSKIS

On a wintry walk with her daughter in a pram, 28-year-old Ekaterina is “quite against” the idea.

“The government hasn’t done enough for us; for people with disabilities or parents with prams, these winter sidewalks aren’t safe,” she said, gesturing at the icy paths, and declining to give a surname.

“Now they’re asking us to give our children?”

War would especially impact border towns like Zilupe – first, as a potential target given close proximity to Russia; and second, because the majority of its nearly 1,400 residents are Russian.

The primary language here is Russian – not Latvian, nor the local dialect, Latgalian.

Experts worry that these eastern reaches of Latvia – with villages populated by Russians and Belarussians – could give Putin fodder to “justify” an invasion and to establish “people’s republic”, as he did in Ukraine with Donetsk and Luhansk.

Many of Zilupe’s residents settled here before the dissolution of the Soviet Union, retaining family ties in Russia.

Before war broke out in Ukraine, people travelled often between Latvia and Russia.

Trips were so frequent that the train station – the last stop before Russia – is still plastered with signs of what travellers can bring into the EU, including a maximum of 125 grams of caviar.

Some still make the trek, though far fewer do so now, as Latvia has closed many border crossings to Russia and Belarus. Cross-border trains have largely stopped, and untouched snow blankets the tracks running east.

Families on both sides of conflict

The town’s complicated dynamics are perhaps best demonstrated by the fact that residents have sons and nephews enlisted on both sides in the Russian and Ukrainian militaries.

Vladimir, 89, who lives in Zilupe and is from Ukraine, with a son in the military, said: “I regret that innocent young people have to get involved in war. Latvia’s demographics are so old, and now we have to send our youths.”

In Riga, the capital, support for Ukraine remains overwhelming. Government buildings hang Ukraine’s flag and its blue-and-yellow colours can be found on everything from tram doors to trinkets such as coffee cups and candles.

While this reflects widespread unease that Latvia could find itself in Putin’s path, it also reveals a deep-seated resolve to defend the country’s hard-won independence.

The Freedom Monument, a 42-metre sculpture of a copper Liberty erected in 1935, stands testament to that desire.

The statue, which survived decades under Soviet occupation, is guarded today by two soldiers at its stone base; police officers patrol the square.

Krisjanis Karins, Latvia’s foreign minister, said: “We simply have to do things differently than if we weren’t living next to Russia. And, you know, Latvia has always been next to Russia.

“It has never been a democratic country … and this is what’s troubling,” he said. “They won’t stop of their own accord; they can only be stopped.

“They need to run up against the brick wall, and that brick wall needs to be Nato resolve and proven capabilities.”

Hillary Clinton Flips Key MAGA Talking Point Against Donald Trump

HuffPost

Hillary Clinton Flips Key MAGA Talking Point Against Donald Trump

Lee Moran – March 20, 2024

Hillary Clinton ripped Donald Trump on X (formerly Twitter) by flipping a current GOP line of attack back on the former president.

Republicans — including the new Republican National Committee co-chair Lara Trump and Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) — have recently begun rhetorically asking voters if they believe they are better off now under President Joe Biden than they were four years ago, when Trump was still in the White House.

It’s an updated take on former President Ronald Reagan’s 1980 election question.

Both Lara Trump and Stefanik have received stark reminders of the chaos that engulfed the country amid then-President Donald Trump’s mishandling of the coronavirus pandemic.

And former Secretary of State Clinton, who has been a persistent and vocal critic of presumptive GOP nominee Trump since her shock loss to him in the 2016 election, chimed in with this response to the conservative talking point:

“Multiple indictments and half a billion dollars in civil liability later, pretty much the only person who can say they were better off four years ago is Donald Trump.”

Finland has been crowned the happiest country in the world for the 7th year running. See the top 20.

Business Insider

Finland has been crowned the happiest country in the world for the 7th year running. See the top 20.

Beatrice Nolan and Ana Altchek – March 20, 2024

A woman in Helsinki, Finland — Helsinki, Finland.Lingxiao Xie/Getty Images

Finland has been named the world’s happiest country for the seventh year in a row.
The World Happiness Report released its annual rankings of the happiest countries on Wednesday.
The US fell out of the top 20 as youth happiness plummeted.

Finland has been crowned the happiest country in the world for the seventh consecutive year.

The World Happiness Report released its annual rankings of the happiest countries on Wednesday, with the majority of the top spots going to European nations.

The report, published by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network, relies on data from the Gallup World Poll, which is analyzed by some of the world’s leading well-being scientists.

The rankings represent the average view of life satisfaction in respective countries, known as “subjective well-being.”

Finland has managed to hold onto the top spot despite Denmark significantly closing the gap between first and second place.

On the flip side, Afghanistan, which was also ranked in last place in 2023, dropped even further for average happiness. America also saw a drop in perceived quality of life, dropping out of the top twenty countries for the first time since the report was published.

Young Americans ranked the lowest, with Gen Z loneliness increasing.

Here’s the full list of the top twenty happiest countries in the world, according to the report.

20. United Kingdom

According to the report, older people in the UK are significantly happier than younger age groups.

Despite the UK maintaining its ranking, a recent report from US nonprofit Sapien Labs’ Mental State of the World Report said that the UK is the second most miserable country in the world. It ranked below Ukraine, and the report indicated that factors like having a smartphone at a young age, eating highly processed foods, and decreased social relationships contributed.

19. Lithuania

Street in Lithuania — A street in LithuaniaRicardo Sergio Schmitz

While it’s No. 19 overall, Lithuania ranked as the happiest country for you people, according to the Gallup report. The country’s capital city, Vilnius, is known for attracting young workers from across the globe because of better work opportunities.

18. Czechia

Czechia maintained its ranking as 18 for the second year in a row. The country is known for its strong work-life balance and low cost of living.

According to the report, growing happiness in Czechia and other transition countries of Eastern Europe, like Lithuania and Slovenia, is partially why the US and Germany have fallen below the top 20 mark.

17. Ireland

Ireland has a slower pace of life and is full of cultural traditions, with drinking being a big one. It also has affordable healthcare and a good work-life balance where weekend getaways are common and encouraged.

16. Belgium

a view of wavre, belgium town hall — Wavre, Belgium.boerescul/Getty Images

Despite a high tax rate, many companies in Belgium offer perks like company cars, meal stipends, and affordable healthcare.

Antwerp, the biggest city in the Flanders region of Belgium, has previously been named one of the happiest cities in the world.

15. Canada

A man wrapped in two Canadian flag parades down an empty street. — A man wrapped in the Canadian flag.Dave Chan

Canada and the UK are the only countries with populations over 30 million that made the top 20 ranking in the report.

Older Canadians are significantly happier than younger age groups in the country. According to a breakdown of younger and older residents in each country, Canadians under 30 ranked 50 points lower than those 60 and older.

14. Austria

a photo of the Vienna, Austria Skyline. — Vienna, Austria.Giannis Alexopoulos/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Many Americans have moved to Vienna and Linz for better work opportunities and overall quality of life. Shortages in engineering, nursing, and baking have opened up opportunities for people living in other countries.

One expat dad living in the country said his overall mental health improved in Austria and the move relieved some of his anxiety related to work. He also gets to travel more easily and spend more time with his family.

Austrians get 38 days of paid time off per year, with 25 days of paid vacation and an additional 13 public holidays off.

13. Kuwait

Kuwait downtown luxury — Downtown Kuwait.trabantos / Getty Images

Kuwait is newly ranked in the top 20 happiest countries. Workers in the private sector get 30 days of paid time off a year, one of the highest amounts of PTO in the world.

12. Costa Rica

Waterfall and pond in Nicoya, Costa Rica. — A waterfall in Nicoya, Costa Rica. underworld111/Getty Images

Costa Rica returned to the top 20 list after earning the same ranking in 2012, according to the Gallup report. Housing isn’t cheap, but some residents save money on utilities and transportation.

Others have reported improved mental health after moving there from the lifestyle and culture that centers around wildlife and nature.

11. New Zealand

Aerial View Of Auckland City's skyline in New Zealand at sunrise — Aerial View Of Auckland City’s skyline in New Zealand at sunrise.Jonathan Clark/Getty Images

According to some Americans who moved to New Zealand, housing costs are high, and buying options are limited. But work-life balance is better, and education and healthcare come at a lower cost.

Despite its high ranking, the report reveals that younger people living in New Zealand are significantly less happy than older residents. A separate list comparing young and older age groups in each country found that Kiwis 60 and older ranked in sixth place in happiness globally, while Kiwis under 30 ranked at 27.

10. Australia

The Sydney Opera House in Sydney, Australia. — The iconic Sydney Opera House in Australia. James D. Morgan/Getty Images

Australia has a reputation for offering one-of-a-kind experiences in nature, like snorkeling with turtles off the Great Barrier Reef or observing kangaroos in wildlife preserves. It’s also known for its laidback culture and relaxing vibe.

9. Switzerland

The Bernina Express train in Switzerland.Roberto Moiola/Getty Images

Switzerland was previously named the world’s best country by US News & World Report, and its business-friendly culture was a big part of the ranking.

Switzerland is a hub for raw materials like oil, and the country may also benefit from its historical stance of neutrality during international conflicts.

8. Luxembourg

Luxembourg city old town — The old town of Luxembourg City.Getty Images

Luxembourg is known for its rich history, tasty pastries, and fairytale aesthetic in some of its villages like Echternach.

According to an American student who moved there for grad school, the lower cost of tuition and cheaper healthcare necessities were a perk. Other notable factors included an efficient transportation system and a strong work-life balance that made a difference for her.

7. Norway

Norway maintained a high ranking in the report, but it also experienced a drop in scores among younger age groups.

While the weather doesn’t bode well for everyone, the country’s capital Oslo has previously been ranked as the best city in the world for work-life balance. Oslo has high employment opportunities in the life sciences, IT, and energy and environmental technology sectors.

6. The Netherlands

Amsterdam, the Netherlands.Mouneb Taim/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

A large part of Dutch culture lies in the concept of “niksen,” or doing nothing. Dutch residents value relaxation and tend to be friendly and welcoming to others.

The country is also known for its transportation system and Dutch-style home mortgages that make it easier for some residents to buy property.

5. Israel

Jerusalem, Israel — Israel.Nick Brundle Photography/Getty Images

Israel remained in the top five happiest countries in the world, moving down one ranking and 0.9 of a percentage point from last year. While the poll was taken before warfare in Gaza escalated, it was taken after the October 7 attack and hostage crisis.

With men and women joining the military at 18 years old, Israelis value living live in the present. The country also places high importance on community and family life, and less emphasis on work and status.

4. Sweden

Norrbro Bridge and the Royal Opera building in Stockholm, Sweden.Murat Taner/Getty Images

According to the Gallup report, older Swedish people are significantly happier than younger age groups in the country.

Sweden is known for its high level of safety and strong work-life balance. According to one consultant from California who moved to Sweden, it took two years to secure a full-time job but now she gets six weeks of paid vacation time and also secured a free master’s.

3. Iceland

Seljalandsfoss waterfall in Iceland.Phillip Chow/Getty Images

Despite limited sunlight in the winters, Iceland managed to rank in the top three happiest countries for the second year in a row. While rent is rising in Iceland, it’s still cheaper than in other countries, and the cost of living is relatively low with healthcare heavily subsidized and nearly free.

2. Denmark

Copenhagen, Denmark. Alexander Spatari/Getty Images

Denmark is known for its “hygge” culture, which is the Danish concept of relaxing and enjoying simple comforts — the term is used in different settings to reinforce the idea of having fun.

The country is also known for its exceptional childcare, with Copenhagen ranked as one of the best places to raise children.

1. Finland

Market Square and Uspenski Orthodox Cathedral in Finland.Jon Hicks/Getty Images

Finland has a strong sense of democracy, and its public institutions and policies reinforce it.

Some attribute the high satisfaction of its residents to its welfare policy, which covers necessities for residents from “cradle to grave.” The policy offers free healthcare and free education from elementary school to college.

The U.S. is no longer one of the 20 happiest countries. If you’re young, you probably know why.

NBC News

The U.S. is no longer one of the 20 happiest countries. If you’re young, you probably know why.

Yuliya Talmazan – March 20, 2024

Happiness is a relative concept, but an annual index that tracks it in countries around the world has found that the United States and some Western European countries are falling in overall well-being because younger people are feeling less and less happy.

The U.S., in particular, dropped out of the top 20 for the first time, falling to 23rd place from 15th last year, driven by a large drop in the well-being of Americans under 30. The age disparity is stark: The U.S. ranks in the top 10 for those over 60, but for those under 30, it ranks 62nd, pulling down the overall score.

The report tracks trends in well-being rather than causes, but one of the editors of the report told NBC News that a myriad of factors, including economic inequality between generations in the U.S., are likely to blame for the low levels of happiness in American youth.

This makes the U.S., along with a handful of other countries, such as Canada, Germany and France, the global outliers — the report found that in many regions of the world, the young are still happier than the old.

The findings, announced Wednesday to mark the United Nations’ International Day of Happiness, are part of the World Happiness Report, which has been tracking well-being ratings around the world for more than a decade. It’s based on data collected by the research company Gallup and analysis by well-being academics led by the University of Oxford in the U.K.

Tuska 2023 (Vesa Moilanen / Sipa USA via Reuters file)

For the first time this year, the report gave separate rankings by age group, which in many cases vary widely from the overall happiness rankings for different nations. The report found that Lithuania topped the list for people under 30, while Denmark is the world’s happiest country for those aged 60 and older.

“We had picked up in recent years from scattered sources of data that child and youth well-being, particularly so in the United States, had seen a drop,” said Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, professor of economics and behavioral science at Oxford, who is one of the editors of the report. “That has pushed us for the first time to really slice and dice the data by these age categories, which we normally don’t do.”

The finding that in many but not all regions of the world, the young are still happier than the old, is consistent with the long-standing paradigm that people are the happiest in their younger years.

“To my surprise, youth well-being going off a cliff in the United States and North America, and to a lesser extent in Western Europe and Great Britain, is really explaining why the United States, Canada and the U.K. are getting lower and lower in the general population rankings,” De Neve said. “So that’s really explaining it because it’s not the case that the middle-aged or the people that are above 60 are dropping. If anything, the above 60s in the U.S. would be No. 10.”

Well-being for people under 30 in the U.S. ranks below the Dominican Republic, and is in line with countries such as Malaysia and Russia. Canada’s unhappy youth rank 58, four spots above the U.S.

When it comes to the tanking youth happiness in the U.S., De Neve said there is not a single smoking gun, but it is likely due to a combination of many factors ranging from political polarization to overuse of social media to uncertainty about the future and growing economic inequality between generations, with people under 30 struggling to get onto the real estate ladder.

“It’s a very complex time for youth, with lots of pressures and a lot of demands for their attention,” he added.

Meanwhile, the report also found that in countries of central and Eastern Europe, younger people are much happier than the old. But these countries have also seen the largest increases in happiness, for all ages. It was one of the biggest insights, De Neve said, that could be a big learning point.

“I think we can try and dig into why the U.S. is coming down in terms of wellbeing and mental health, but we should also try and learn from what, say, Lithuania is doing well,” he said.

The rankings are based on self-assessments by people in more than 140 countries, in which they rate their life on a scale from zero to 10, with the best possible life for them as a 10. Among the predictors of people’s happiness are not just economic well-being, the report says, but also other factors including freedom, life expectancy and social support.

This year, Finland remained on top of the list, and was followed by Denmark, Iceland and Sweden. The lowest happiness scores were registered in war-ravaged Afghanistan.

The consistently high performance of Scandinavian nations is likely down to “a high sense of contentment” and high levels of trust in the society, De Neve said.

“They are obviously wealthy nations,” he added. But more than the high gross domestic product per capita, he said, wealth is also equally distributed, “they are amongst the most equal societies, so everybody benefits from the wealth that also underpins a welfare state, which provides psychological stability.”

US falls out of world’s top 20 happiest countries list for the first time ever

The Guardian

US falls out of world’s top 20 happiest countries list for the first time ever

Maya Yang – March 20, 2024

<span>Among people below the age of 30 from 2021 to 2023, the US ranks 62nd place in the World Happiness Report.</span><span>Photograph: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images</span> — Among people below the age of 30 from 2021 to 2023, the US ranks 62nd place in the World Happiness Report.Photograph: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

The US has fallen out of the top 20 happiest countries to live in for the first time ever, according to a new report.

In findings released on Wednesday, the World Happiness Report revealed that the US has slid from its 15th place last year to 23rd place this year.

The report, created via a partnership involving Gallup, the Oxford Wellbeing Research Centre, the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, and the World Happiness Report’s editorial board, pointed to happiness decreasing in all age groups for the US. It also found a significant decline among young people, who are now the least happy age group.

“This is a big change from 2006-10, when the young were happier than those in the midlife groups, and about as happy as those aged 60 and over. For the young, the happiness drop was about three-quarters of a point, and greater for females than males,” the report said.

Among people below the age of 30 from 2021 to 2023, the US ranks 62nd in happiness. Meanwhile, among those who are 60 and above, the US ranks 10th.

“In comparing generations, those born before 1965 are, on average, happier than those born since 1980. Among millennials, evaluation of one’s own life drops with each year of age, while among boomers life satisfaction increases with age,” according to a summary of the report.

Finland, for the seventh straight year, has been ranked the world’s happiest country. It is followed by Denmark, Iceland, Sweden and Israel. The least happy country is Afghanistan, the report said, followed by Lebanon, Lesotho, Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The report’s rankings are not based on any index of factors including GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom, generosity and corruption. Instead, the scores are based on individuals’ own assessments of their lives, according to researchers.

U.S. Falls Out of Top 20 Happiest Countries for the First Time Ever

Time

U.S. Falls Out of Top 20 Happiest Countries for the First Time Ever

Solcyré Burga – March 19, 2024

Credit – Illustration by TIME; Getty Images (2)

For the first time in the World Happiness Report’s dozen-year history, the U.S. did not rank in the top 20 of the world’s happiest countries.

Out of the more than 140 nations surveyed, the U.S. landed in 23rd place, compared to 15th place in 2023. While the U.S. is still in the top 10 happiest countries for those 60 years old and above, its overall ranking fell due to a significant decline in the reported well-being of Americans under 30.

Finland ranked at the top of the list for the seventh year in a row. Lithuania is the happiest country in the world if you only look at those under the age of 30, while Denmark is the happiest country for people who are 60 and older.

This was the first year the report, released March 20 to mark the UN’s International Day of Happiness, analyzed rates of happiness by age group. “We found some pretty striking results,” said John F. Helliwell, professor at the Vancouver School of Economics and founding editor of the World Happiness Report. “There is a great variety among countries in the relative happiness of the younger, older, and in-between populations. Hence the global happiness rankings are quite different for the young and the old, to an extent that has changed a lot over the last dozen years.”

The findings were developed through a partnership between Gallup, the Oxford Wellbeing Research Centre, the World Happiness Report’s editorial board, and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Solutions Network. Countries are ranked based on a “three-year average of each population’s average assessment of their quality of life,” the press release said.

The most recent report relies on data that was collected after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, with survey respondents answering questions from 2021-2023.

According to the report, people born before 1965 are, on average, happier than people born after 1980. Millennials report drops in their life satisfaction with every year they grow older, while boomers’ happiness increases the older they get.

Globally, people between the ages of 15 and 24 typically report greater life satisfaction than older adults. But the 2024 report finds that the gap is shrinking in Europe, and has reversed in North America. The data contrasts with reports of life satisfaction between 2006 and 2010, when the younger generation in North America were just as happy as older folks.

“Social connections could be one factor explaining the generational happiness differences,” says Ilana Ron Levey, Gallup Managing Director. “Different generations have different levels of social connections and we know social support and loneliness affect happiness. The quality of interpersonal relationships may affect the young and the old differently.”

In Central and Eastern Europe, Ron Levey notes, younger people tended to report higher levels of happiness than older people, in part because of social connection. But the data differs elsewhere in the world, including in the U.S. Last May, the U.S. Surgeon General brought attention to the public health crisis of loneliness and isolation, calling it an epidemic. A previous report by the American Psychological Association found that Gen Z adults reported higher stress levels than older generations, with health and finances cited as top concerns.

Across the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia, the wellbeing of 15-to-24-year-olds has also fallen since 2019.

“Piecing together the available data on the wellbeing of children and adolescents around the world, we documented disconcerting drops especially in North America and Western Europe,” said Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, the director of Oxford’s Wellbeing Research Centre and an editor of the report. “To think that, in some parts of the world, children are already experiencing the equivalent of a mid-life crisis demands immediate policy action.”

“Bizarre”: Legal expert says Judge Cannon’s “outlandish” order is “sign of her extreme partisanship”

Salon

“Bizarre”: Legal expert says Judge Cannon’s “outlandish” order is “sign of her extreme partisanship”

Tatyana Tandanpolie – March 19, 2024

Judge Aileen Cannon and Special Counsel Jack Smith Photo illustration by Salon/Getty Images/US District Court for the Southern District of Florida

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who is overseeing Donald Trump‘s classified documents case in Florida, issued an order late Monday pertaining to jury instructions for the end of the trial — even though she has not ruled yet on when the trial, which is likely to be pushed from its May start date, will begin.

Cannon requested federal prosecutors and the former president’s attorneys submit by April 2 proposed jury instructions concerning national security and presidential record laws connected to two defense motions to dismiss the trial altogether. Her order signaled that the question of whether Trump had legal authority to retain national security documents will still be a key question of the case, which could give Trump a boost at trial, according to CNN.

It also confounded legal experts, in some cases, because of its considerations of the Presidential Records Act, a law that declares records created or received by the president as part of his duties as government property.

“Some commentators have described Cannon’s order as ‘unusual.’ I would use words like wacko, crazy, loony, nutty, ridiculous, and outlandish, and my terms are probably understatements,” Bennett Gershman, a Pace University law professor and former New York prosecutor, told Salon.

The Presidential Records Act (PRA) “makes a clear distinction” between a president’s personal records, like diaries and journals, and the official, “non-personal” classified documents Trump is alleged to have willfully retained, Gershman added.

Cannon’s exercise is a continuation of last week’s hearing in the case, in which the relatively inexperienced, Trump-appointed judge heard Trump’s attorneys’ argument that the PRA gave him unlimited power to determine which documents he needed to return to the National Archives.

The Justice Department has maintained that Trump’s 32 charges under the Espionage Act are unrelated to the PRA and, instead, take up the issue of his retention of U.S. and foreign military secrets without federal protections at his Mar-a-Lago beach club and alleged efforts to thwart government officials’ retrieval efforts.

During last Thursday’s hearing, Cannon seemed skeptical that Trump’s “attack on the Espionage Act,” which criminalizes unauthorized possession of national security documents, or embrace of the PRA would offer strong enough arguments to rescue him from a criminal trial, according to The Washington Post. Cannon, however, did suggest that some parts of the GOP frontrunner’s arguments could later impact jury instructions.

Jury instructions tell jurors how to weigh the evidence presented in a case ahead of deliberations. Cannon’s focus on the matter at this point “suggests she is not only thinking ahead to a trial of the former president, but already zeroing in on the end, rather than the beginning, of such a proceeding,” according to The Washington Post.

Cannon’s order also suggests she is receptive to some of Trump’s claims that the Presidential Records Act allows presidents to lay personal claims to highly classified documents. National security experts, however, have countered that notion, saying that Trump’s interpretation is neither what the law states nor how courts have previously interpreted it.

“If the court is so inclined to adopt former President Trump’s arguments under the Presidential Records Act, that there is literally wiggle room to debate the question of application, then Judge Cannon might as well grant the pending motion as a matter of law,” Mark Zaid, a D.C.-based national security attorney, told Salon.

In formulating their instructions, the judge asked the prosecution and defense team to consider, through two hypothetical scenarios, how a jury could be instructed to weigh criminal law around national security documents if Trump could say the Presidential Records Act empowered him to retain them after leaving office. The order also asked the attorneys to define the terms of the Espionage Act.

“The parties must engage with the following competing scenarios and offer alternative draft text that assumes each scenario to be a correct formulation of the law,” Cannon wrote.

Instructions for the first scenario she presented would task the jury with deciding whether prosecutors showed that Trump lacked the authority to keep the classified documents found at Mar-a-Lago, even if they qualified as personal or presidential records. Cannon, according to the Washington Post, included a footnote in the hypothetical permitting discussion of “separation of powers or immunity concerns” if deemed relevant.

Instructions for the second scenario would take the perspective that, as president, Trump had total power through the PRA to take any records he chose from the White House. The second hypothetical appears to offer a circumstance where Trump could not be convicted under “almost any set of facts of improperly possessing classified documents,” the Post notes.

The order, Zaid said, is “somewhat mystifying” because Cannon appears to be seeking jury instructions from both parties on issues that “should, and normally would, be determined as a matter of law by the court.”

“These issues are not within the purview of a jury to decide,” he added.

A trial typically asks opposing counsel to draft proposed instructions for a jury, Gershman explained, but a judge’s instructions to the group require the judge to explain to the jurors the relevant legal principles and ask them to then apply those principles to the facts and evidence of the case.

Cannon’s first hypothetical instead asks the jury to “determine the law” surrounding the question of Trump’s authority to retain classified records, while the second “in effect advises the jury that if the president believed he was not violating the law, then the jury should find him not guilty,” Gershman said.

Why Cannon would issue an order pertaining to end-of-trial jury instruction before solidifying the start date for the trial, which is widely expected to be pushed from May 20 due to pre-trial delays, remains unclear.

Zaid expects the Justice Department will object to the exercise because of the power it could afford the jury to “decide what is or is not a personal record under the PRA.”

“How does one read a bizarre order like this except to realize that Judge Cannon lacks experience, is out of touch with the law and criminal trials, lacks an understanding of the proper function of a judge, and lacks an appreciation of the proper role of a judge in our legal system,” Gershman added, echoing widespread criticism from legal experts of Cannon’s limited experience as a judge and decisions in the case perceived to be favoring Trump thus far.

The order, he said, goes beyond being a simple “sign of her extreme partisanship.”

“It portends that if the case ever comes to trial, she will make every effort through her rulings on evidence, controlling lawyer arguments to the jury, and jury instructions, to ensure that Trump is found not guilty,” Gershman said. “The government can’t appeal an acquittal.”

Judge in Trump classified documents case proposes ‘insane’ jury instructions, experts say

USA Today

Judge in Trump classified documents case proposes ‘insane’ jury instructions, experts say

Bart Jansen, USA TODAY – March 19, 2024

The judge presiding over charges against former President Donald Trump for allegedly hoarding classified documents after leaving the White House proposed on Monday jury instructions for the eventual trial that favor his claim that he declassified the records.

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon’s proposal tips the scales so far in Trump’s direction that legal experts say the prosecutor, Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith, might ask an appeals court to remove her from the case.

Joyce White Vance, a former U.S. attorney, said the Presidential Records Act isn’t a way around rules for handling classified documents because the records are still government property, not Trump’s personal possessions.

“Expect their response to be hard-hitting,” Vance said of prosecutors in a post on Substack. “The bottom line is that the Presidential Records Act doesn’t forgive Trump for violating criminal laws regarding handling of national secrets.”

Former President Donald Trump motorcade leaves the Alto Lee Adams, Sr. United States Courthouse after a classified documents court hearing Thursday, March 14, 2024, in Fort Pierce.

Cannon proposed jury instructions for Trump’s lawyers, prosecutors to ‘engage’

Cannon gave lawyers for Trump and Smith until April 2 to submit proposed jury instructions for the eventual trial. The order on Monday came after a hearing in which she didn’t resolve the dispute over whether the documents fell under the Presidential Records Act.

But her order called for lawyers on both sides to “engage” with two possible instructions she proposed.

In one, Cannon said jurors should “make a factual finding as to whether the government had proven beyond a reasonable doubt” the records are personal or presidential.

In the other, Cannon proposed telling jurors “a president has sole authority under the PRA to categorize records as personal or presidential during his/her presidency. Neither a court nor a jury is permitted to make or review such as categorization decision.”

Cannon’s proposed jury instructions ‘insane’ and ‘crazy’: legal experts

Legal experts blasted the order as “insane” and “nuts.”

“This second scenario is legally insane,” and under it Cannon could simply dismiss the charges, said Bradley Moss, a national-security lawyer.

George Conway, another lawyer and frequent critic of Trump, argued Cannon shouldn’t be hearing the case and shouldn’t even be a federal judge. Cannon was appointed by Trump and has been widely criticized for decisions that have delayed the trial, including two overturned by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

“This is utterly nuts,” Conway said.

Vance said both proposals from Cannon “virtually direct the jury to find Trump not guilty.”

“It turns out it’s two pages of crazy stemming from the Judge’s apparent inability to tell Trump no when it comes to his argument that he turned the nation’s secrets into his personal records by designating them as such under the Presidential Records Act,” Vance said.

Special counsel Jack Smith speaks on Aug. 1, 2023, about the indictment against former President Donald Trump on conspiring to steal the 2020 election from President Joe Biden, including the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

What is the Presidential Records Act?

The Presidential Records Act designates all presidential records public property to be stored at the National Archives. Exceptions are made for personal documents such as birthday cards a president receives while in office.

Trump is charged with retaining about 100 national defense documents dealing with secrets such as defense and weapons capabilities of U.S. and foreign countries, and U.S. nuclear programs, and then conspiring to hide them at his club Mar-a-Lago in Florida. The FBI seized them among thousands of other records during a search in August 2022.

Trump has argued repeatedly that he could take records with him after leaving the White House, despite the Presidential Records Act giving ownership to the National Archives and Records Administration.

In arguing the case should be dismissed, Trump contends he designated the classified records personal before leaving the White House. Trump contends that courts can’t review his decisions over what records were personal, which he could keep, and which were official, which he would have to give the National Archives. The Presidential Records Act makes disputes about the records subject to civil litigation rather than through criminal charges

Trump also argued he declassified them, despite producing no documentation for his assertion. In fact, Trump was recorded in a 2021 meeting saying he kept “secret” military information that he had not declassified.

“As president, I could have declassified, but now I can’t,” Trump said, according to the transcript obtained by CNN.

People gather to greet former President Trump's SUV as he pulls in to the underground garage of the federal courthouse in Fort Pierce, Florida, on March 14, 2024. — People gather to greet former President Trump’s SUV as he pulls in to the underground garage of the federal courthouse in Fort Pierce, Florida, on March 14, 2024.

Appeals court called Trump’s declassification argument a ‘red herring’

Legal experts expect Smith to appeal the jury instructions to the 11^th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals if Cannon adopts what she has proposed. Her order seems to convey the same misunderstanding of the Presidential Records Act as when the 11^th Circuit overturned her order for a third-party review of the records.

Cannon had ordered a special master, a retired federal judge, to review the records seized at Mar-a-Lago to determine whether they fell under the Presidential Records Act. Prosecutors had to halt their investigation awaiting the results.

But a three-judge panel of the 11^th Circuit unanimously halted the review by calling Trump’s argument that he declassified the documents so that they fell under the Presidential Records Act a “red herring” because the change wouldn’t have made the government records personal.

“The declassification argument is a red herring because declassifying an official document would not change its content or render it personal,” the appeals panel wrote. “So even if we assumed that Plaintiff did declassify some or all of the documents, that would not explain why he has a personal interest in them.”

Moss said if Cannon adopts the jury instructions as she proposed them, Smith could appeal to the 11^th Circuit “for a quick reversal.”